Rondo claims Carlisle backed off a little bit from talking to him and watching film with him

DALLAS – It sounds like Dallas Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo is frustrated because he hasn’t been receiving the kind of personal love from coach Rick Carlisle that he received when he first arrived from the Boston Celtics in December.

The way Rondo described it after Friday’s practice, he and Carlisle were basically inseparable following the Dec. 18 trade that brought the nine-year veteran to the Mavs from the Celtics. However, since the Mavs signed center/forward Amar’e Stoudemire on Feb. 18, Rondo hasn’t been getting the extra attention from Carlisle that he’d grown accustomed to.

"Coach and I, when I first got here, we were talking a lot and watching film a lot after every game,’’ Rondo said. "He’s backed off a little bit with the addition of Amar’e and trying to help him and get him up to speed.’’

Rondo said a lack of communication led to a profanity-laced exchange he had with Carlisle in the third quarter of Tuesday’s win over Toronto.

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